


Tame Me

by meiqis



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Inspired by White Collar, M/M, Pining, idk what to tag rip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-08-17 16:13:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 20,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16519823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meiqis/pseuds/meiqis
Summary: Lin Yanjun, forger, thief and con-man extraordinaire, has a deal with the FBI to keep himself out of prison.Zhu Zhengting, new agent on the field, is now assigned with the task of working with him - which would be easier if Yanjun wasn't a flirt and loved to break rules.





	1. Case One - Rejection

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [this cc](https://curiouscat.me/dadting/post/576294715)  
> Originally I wanted to make it a oneshot but seeing how I had already been writing so much when not really there just yet and struggling a bit too, I decided to split it up to gather my thoughts and energies for this again - yay!  
> Also, idk how but Zhengting came out a lot more prickly in this than I thought, whoops
> 
> marked Mature because I might add some more briskly scenes in the 2nd half

"Name: Lin Yanjun... Birthdate... Place of birth... Ethnicity, religion, gender..." Zhengting muttered more to himself than to his supervisor in front, on the other side of the table, a rather tall and intimidating man who made up with wits what was lacking in width, who had already called him in within two weeks of having been transferred here from his previous bureau, after finishing his time of probation, kind of his trainee times, and now that he was supposed to be a full fledged agent, he was already handed his first case. He should be excited. Except he wasn't.  
The name that had been familiar originally, for some unknown reason, finally rang a bell, a giant one, on that note, because looking at the record of said Lin Yanjun reminded him quite well of as to why - Lin Yanjun, the most searched for con-man, forger and thief of years had been caught by the FBI less than a year ago, yet that guy seemed to have had some dirt on certain people because rather than getting locked away, he had turned into a dog to the investigation units, a souffleur to tell them about what was real and not, an adviser in how to catch people without armed force, a trained eye and charming smile that was used like a scalpel in a doctor’s hands, like a camera held by a photographer, and with quite the reputation too.  
It would all be great and easy, if not the problem was the man himself, and what he had thought had only been rumors going around the New York headquarters turned out to be quite real, there was a record of a total of twenty-plus agents having been assigned to and redrawn from the criminal as partners and watchdogs, the count of crimes committed before being caught seemed to come up to a whole double as to what he had been told before during his last months in Quantico, and those were yet to exclude the amount of missteps done while working with and under the FBI along with those offenses to the law that had not yet been proven to be committed by the criminal.  
"Sir...?" With confusion he looked up at the older man opposite him, only to be handed another document, a psychological report written down that he only so much as skimmed over with his eyes, not interested in reading that too excessively when he could still sense the air within the room thicken with anticipation and words not yet said.  
"We had to come up with some new regulations for him," the more experienced agent said, chin resting on crossed hands and eyes staring at him to the point Zhengting barely so managed not to squirm under that intense stare. "As you'll be able to read later, our psychologists said that he's in need of a sense of familiarity. And as you're of the same ethnicity, you should make a great choice. Furthermore you'll be delighted to know this case comes with an FBI apartment, only further charges such as water, gas and electricity are upon you to be paid, considering you’re still living in a hotel, aren’t you? You should also be safe from his advances for several reasons. I'm looking forward to your results, Mister Zhu, I was informed you are a very promising agent, I expect not too little of you."  
Despite his urge to protest for this was wrong on so many levels - first off, this man and he might be of the same ethnicity but for no means that meant for them to share a sense of familiarity, merely based on their mother tongue or birth country, but also for a superior had dared look into his private and living situation which, quite frankly, meant an intrusion of privacy, no matter what kind of agency they were, there should be limits - he could only swallow it down, reach out to grab the hand held out to him as he got up, and conjured a perfect smile upon his lips before he slipped out of the room with some polite phrases.  
For one part he was indeed interested, that sly fox of a forger had had many agents on their toes for years, an expertise in falsification and copying the great masters along with enough brains to escape over and over again, that very man had been quite the interesting case, but now, with all the rumors going around, he couldn’t help but wonder how the theft had managed to escape over and over again, even in just those two weeks he had heard a lot, about all the female agents he had managed to tempt and even more of the male ones that were now upset or offended, it was no wonder no one wanted to work with that guy, which, actually, meant that as newbie trainee he had merely been assigned the worst of cases, kind of like the dirt no one wanted to wipe away and he was made to deal with it.  
Silently he released a sigh before he went off, down the hallways and to his department to plop onto his chair, there already were some new files draped onto his desk, along with a set of keys that apparently belonged to his new apartment but only had his shoulders slump, carelessly pushed aside so he could access the files and read over them, the “new regulations” for Lin Yanjun along with the report and it all came along with a request for all the old data, just so he could at least know who he was dealing with exactly.  
Which, summed up, was a task that took him hours and with the end of his work day, he had learned all sorts of things and yet nothing - Lin Yanjun was a notorious playboy, someone who looked for the thrill in things, which was also the reason as to why the next agent, meaning Zhengting himself, assigned to him was to be pretty much a nanny to the criminal, including living together, going to and back from work together, there was a certain set of time that could be considered “free time”, all cases they were to take one had to be chosen by either of them as long as they fulfilled specific criteria and they were to request whatever tasks needed from their colleagues as long as the most of the investigation was in their charge, and so on.  
All in all, it didn’t seem to be all that bad, he could basically live for free in a rather luxurious apartment, if the pictures were anything to go by, he got a pay raise because having to watch that sly fox all around the clock was like working overtime, and he had more freedom in his work, which were the pros of it, the downsides, though, were way more drastic than that, because if Lin Yanjun was faulty of any mistakes, it would be his fault entirely since he was in charge, he also had to play nanny for a guy who couldn’t keep it in his pants, and that, apparently, everyone expected him to either fail but be denied a change of assignment or be too embarrassed to give up which, either way, lead to no one having to deal with the hassle that was Lin Yanjun.

One might think coming home, or what he was to now call his home, would be considered relaxing, except if it entailed dragging a whole box of files to read over, having to go to the hotel to get luggage and pack up his things, and then somehow maneuver around the city with two huge suitcases, a traveling and work bag one each, and this darned box of files he couldn’t even place anywhere properly.  
By the time he had finally managed to do exactly that and move it up to his respective floor in the apartment building - one that didn’t even seem to be cheap and had him consider the kind of funds the FBI was willing to invest into this case also called Lin Yanjun - he was honestly more out of breath than he had been throughout years of doing sports and what not, which would be, altogether, just fine because he just wanted to drop off his bags, take a shower and fall into bed, except it wasn’t, because the first thing he was greeted with upon entering the apartment was the sight of a semi-naked man vaguely fitting the profile on the couch, with a quite undressed woman straddling said stranger, and a tether lying on the coffee table underneath a pile of sketches much rather than being strapped to the ankle of the criminal.  
“I thought you’re living alone, baby,” the woman said sulkily, not quite yet looking as if she were willing to part from the warm body pressed against hers, the smacking sounds of kissing and sucking along skin filling the rather grand living room that seemed to be every person’s dream with its huge windows and room for a whole second set of living room furniture, instead a bunch of canvas stands were placed around, pictures in various states of finalization, small bar tables or high stools covered in paint tubes, pencils and brushes, only the giant TV told about this being a living room rather than a studio originally. “Or did you plan something naughty?”  
The snicker following these words seemed to be even more annoying than the simple phrasing even, making him snort, yet he wasn’t even taken notice of by the tan male, only received the up-and-down from the blonde who seemed to be more fired up, whether it was due the prospect of a threesome or the hands having moved down to her less so than covered ass to squeeze it wasn’t something he could decide on, but definitely his presence didn’t bother the criminal just yet. “Don’t mind him. Just my perverted cousin peeking because apparently he doesn’t know better than not to disturb…”  
If this were a cartoon, Zhengting was certain his left eyelids would twitch now, or he’d just pull a rocket blaster out of nowhere to shoot that guy to the moon, unfortunately, this was the real life and unless he wanted to blatantly give away that this was FBI-related, he only had two options at hand, one being to swallow this thick lump of frustration down or to act upon it, and considering this was their first night together and they should maybe set some rules or whatever, he decided the second option might be more entertaining, immediately resulting in him staring a pout and he could only thank his experience with his high school acting club now. “Honey! You promised me this won’t happen again, wasn’t this why you asked me to move in? So I can keep track of you not cheating on me anymore? But to so blatantly do it when I only just moved in...”  
One thing he definitely had learned, women as easy as this stranger - and he could only assume she was into sleeping around based on her asking about a threesome - maybe were picked up within short time but they weren’t always in favor of cheating, only proven further by her words, “Wait, wait-”  
“Don’t wanna,” the male muttered, voice dripping sex while his hands gripped the lady trying to lean away further, and finally Zhengting was at least rewarded with a gaze, one that was a burning warning and telling him to go away, better sooner than later.  
Which, basically, translated to stepping it up a bit more, a childish stomp with his foot before he exclaimed, “That’s not what you said yesterday! I still feel sore and yet you’re the one whoring around! You should’ve at least had the decency to-”  
“Look!” The woman interrupted, finally having freed herself from the artist, hands held up as she said, “I think you need to have a talk in private so… yeah, I’ll just go,” and then it only took around five more minutes for her to get dressed and disappear from the apartment, and yet the agent could only wonder how it had happened that not even half a minute later he found himself pressed against the wall by a half naked and semi-aroused body, lips too close to his ear to not feel the hot breath hitting his sensitive skin.  
“You just sent off my evening fuck so maybe you should take responsibility, honey, and in exchange I’ll really have you feeling sore until t-hmph,” words were silenced as the hobby actor pressed his hand against that dirty mouth, pushing the other away, not only because this was an offense to private space because it actually and disgustingly had affected him, shivers running down with that arousing voice and low tone and…  
“Fuck, get dressed, will you?” He growled lowly, all while ignoring the suggestive sparkle in dark eyes as he pushed the other further away, the glimpse towards his arm telling him quite well what was running through that pretty head - how someone as slender as him could possess this much strength. “Just show me my room and order a pizza or something. We’ll have a talk after I took a shower.”  
“Oh, honey, no need to clean-”  
Fast reflexes be blessed, although he, too, had to wonder how his tie had ended up stuffed into the con-man’s mouth but now it was too late to consider this, or too early, he wouldn’t even consider questioning his own capabilities around someone he had to babysit. “I repeat, show me my room, order dinner, and then we talk. And don’t you dare call me ‘honey’ again or I’ll find worse ways to deal with you.”  
Apparently, his gaze must have been impressive enough because all he received was a set of raised eyebrows before he was lead through the living room towards one of the two doors at the other end, leading to a bedroom that seemed rather resembling of a work room, with dozens of canvases piled in the corners and art books stacked on the ground. “Yours. Bathroom is down the hallway, next to the kitchen. What pizza do you like?”  
Maybe some would call it magic, the way that forger had so quickly gotten his act back together but Zhengting would prefer to call it the skill of conning people, yet he didn’t comment on it, only threw his jacket onto the bed standing in the middle of the room, merely a foot away from the floor-length windows, before he turned around to get his stuff into here and then, finally, take a warm shower to be able to relax beneath the steaming stream of water and get used to the idea of a notorious playboy.

It was a whole while later that he sat at the kitchen table, surrounded by the scent of his shower gel still, piece of pizza between his teeth, and taking his sweet time to send his coldest possible glare at the man on the other side of the sturdy piece of furniture, finally dressed in a shirt, at least, and if the clothes were a tad too comfortable, at least he wouldn’t be able to use it as sort of accusation since he, neither, was dressed no more.  
“So, Lin Yanjun,” he started slowly, finally, using his free hand to tap the pen he held against the notebook he had put down, wanting to at least take notes in case there was any kind of rule they would need to add to those put upon them by the FBI, said paper lying right next to it, so he would be able to check it for confirmation upon any of the things he was to say, “since I assume we’ll be stuck with each other for a while…”  
“...you want to set rules, I get it,” the forger said, more serious than Zhengting would’ve expected based on the rumors he had heard but being like that, at least, seemed way more useful than just wasting time on trying to get the other into such mood. “How about we start with you not interrupting my sex life?”  
“Won’t interrupt it,” he agreed readily, because, honestly, there were better things to waste his time on than trying to cockblock someone who apparently had enough time to go out and get people laid instead of working seriously like most others, “As long as you have it under control. You’ll come along to work with me starting tomorrow so there won’t be any chances to pick up girls until the weekend. I’d also advise you to wear your anklet or I’ll need to report you and ask for another version of.”  
“Oh, but it’s making the skin on my ankle all sore? I think there’s something wrong with the size so I’ll need to take it off to just… You know, you look kind of hot all angry and upset like this? Sure you don’t want to get it on?”  
In a club or a bar or wherever else, the agent might’ve accepted such offer, spoken with such sultry voice, intense eyes, smooth lips, but this was work and his libido better had nothing to do with it. “I’ll get you a new one then. And if you continue talking like this, I’ll file a complaint in regards of sexual harassment which would effectively get you fired in most cases. Furthermore, you getting fired means you go to jail so I wouldn’t risk it if I were you.”  
“Harsh. That’s attractive,” the thief replied with a smirk, biting into a pizza in a way that had the rookie chomping down onto his own with more anger, marking the “Sex life only on the weekend” rule down onto the paper rather than staring at the model-worthy face for too long.  
“Since I am in charge of your work times, I will consider your times off if needed. Basics like no drugs, no excessive drinking, no other sorts of illegal behavior should kind of be self-explanatory, right? Whatever it is you’re doing, I’ll be the one getting punished for it so you better not push the lines,” he reminded carefully, not to mention he had worked years to get into this field of working, he wasn’t interested in getting it all messed up just because of some idiot being unable to keep his sex-drive or criminal intentions down.  
For a while longer, they discussed basic rules, somehow drifting off work and towards household duties, which also led to Zhengting learning about this loft originally having been the thief’s, which would also explain the top location and state, no way the FBI could’ve afforded it just like that but as it had already been bought and they had been able to seize all of the belongings bought with the name Lin Yanjun or any of his aliases…  
They were both close to finishing their fatty and heavy dinner when topics moved once again, the agent looking up towards the older who was readying himself to talk again, only to bring up a somewhat surprising topic this time around, “Are you going to tell me how someone like you ended up with the FBI in the US? You weren’t born here because none of my former agents were quite as eager to take a shower in the evening as you were so why come here?”  
“You’re perceptive,” the one supposedly in charge replied, chewing on his pizza crust as he leaned back in his seat, feet supported on the edge of his chair, “but I guess that’s a part of professionally tricking people, not? And it’s because the FBI got better resources and training opportunities, more you don’t need to know. But what about you? Why start forging art pieces in America and not at home?”  
“Family,” was the simple reply that wasn’t actually all that simple, leaving too much room for interpretation - had he been kicked out? was it to keep it all hidden from family? keep them out of trouble? - so Zhengting did actually think about it as he got up to throw his pizza box away and into the trashcan he could only find with Yanjun’s help, before he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.  
“It’s late now so I’ll go off. Be ready in time tomorrow, we’ll need to pick ourselves a first case and I hope you won’t mess it up for me, I dare you,” the agent threatened, throwing one last glance at the criminal before he left the kitchen to find his room instead, falling into the sheets immediately and with a small groan because, honestly, he just wanted to curl up and sleep.

It was a petty and maybe even childish thing, admittedly, but every day he managed to stick around with that obnoxious forger was marked with a little star in his desk calendar at the office, one more added now that, at least officially, his work day was over, actually it wasn’t because reports didn’t write themselves on their own and he had quite the one to handle now, all his notes taken in between written down, the list of investigations and acts, protocols of interrogations and evidence added, the count of all the crimes committed by the one charged, all for the sake of tracing down a pool of people involved with illegal tradings and the sales of forged art, not that much of an easy task when consultants, experts, and officials had been involved altogether even without the impersonating artists involved, a case that had been submerged by others several times yet, apparently, it had taken enough of Yanjun’s interest when looking for something to do in the database and, eventually so, had lead to him getting praised by his boss just some hours ago, during the raid of their supposed headquarters.  
A little ping notified him of an internal e-mail just having arrived, containing all the information about the pieces found during their swoop, paintings and sculptures and stolen artifacts, some old or forged books and writings even, he could only assume the process had been sped up by their handsome sniffer dog helping out the experts all day long and, as if conjured upon, he could already sense the older behind him, strong arms supported on the table and trapping him in between, hot breath hitting his ear as that darned man had leaned in a tad too close. “Can we go home already? I’m hungry, Zhengzheng, and they won’t let me leave.”  
“What? You need a toilet pass now or what?” With a sigh he leaned back in his chair, turning his head to look at the other who had moved along, except he regretted it right the next moment, their faces all too close, the stream of air born from breathing hitting his lips in a way too intimate manner, intimate to the point it drove a shiver down his spine and froze him in place and if anything, that knowing spark in the thief’s eyes telling him the offender of personal space was quite aware of the situation too, yet there was no sign of moving, from neither of them.  
“You could also escort me there, Zhengzheng,” the con-man grinned, the kind of grin a predator would show, carrying the expression of a tiger having trapped his little lamb, and the agent definitely felt like one for a moment, and if it only was because he didn’t have the luscious sex life of a dumb playboy, yet it lasted only so long.  
With a simple push he directed the standing one backwards, writing a quick message onto a sticky note he pasted onto a firm chest, before he turned back to his PC screen to open the message from a few minutes ago, the PDF soon popping up only to be printed out and uploaded into the digital file all along. “You can go now. You’ll have tomorrow off for working overtime the last days so do whatever today. Just… don’t occupy the bath, I want a soak when I’m home.”  
For a moment it seemed like there was something more the older wanted to say but if there really was, it wasn’t acted upon, the stifling air only filled by the sound of steps fading out with the distance as Zhengting was one of the last members staying behind in the office to finish up, all in the hopes of being able to even just sleep an hour longer the following day or to get off earlier ahead of the weekend, all depending on how much time finishing up work would actually take.  
Yet, hours later and finally able to leave, closing up the office as the last one around, all he could think about was the comfort of his bed, no more consideration of a long bath in the luxurious tub with its stupid lion paw like feet, even other physical needs had been entirely forgotten, at least until he was seated in a taxi home and the low grumble of his stomach had even the driver shaking his head in that way a grandfather would at the family’s youngest child after having eaten too many sweets and not wanting dinner anymore, it wasn’t condescending but rather somewhat warm, so all he was able to do was give an embarrassed smile and, just for the sake of it, some extra tip once he was about to get out.  
Which also lead to the biggest surprise of the day, coming home to an empty place seemed all too biding, but the biggest surprise rather was the single lamp lit above the kitchen’s dining table, take out boxes and a sticky note pasted upon it with the words “eat up, chéri, I’ll eat out”, quite enough to make the adressee feel torn between wanting to gag or worry about whether Yanjun was even eating properly.  
“Thank you,” he scribbled down in return, leaving the note on the table as he picked up the box of dumplings to start eating as he walked around, to get rid of his clothes, taking utter freedom in being alone at home and getting to only wear his underwear without risking any flirty lines, which, actually, reminded him of his first day, the way the director had assigned him to this task, saying he’d be relieved of all sexual advances, and yet he hadn’t been able to find out the reason behind, because his forced upon flatmate did flirt, a hellish lot of it, there was also a breach of personal space at least three times every day, the only sure thing to say was that so far he hadn’t actually been touched or led to further stray into inappropriate territory.  
Truthfully, despite their getting too close once too often, he had no idea whether or not the other was even interested in men, maybe it was a given, it wasn’t the kind of talk they would have with their current situation, not when their shared breakfast was filled with the morning news, not when their dinner was usually eaten when they were both too tired and those times they could spend to talk while being free, the artist kept himself occupied with painting or whatever, once he had gone out and picked up some lady who only made their breakfast encounter more awkward, and all in all, they only seemed to be talking work or what to eat for a meal.  
Not like that should unsettle him so much, truthfully, but it did, it somehow bugged him how he lived with someone and, despite reading the file, he knew nothing about the man called Lin Yanjun, hell, he would have never expected the thief to order extra dinner for him despite being allowed to go out and roam clubs, bars, whatever, anyhow it had happened, and for a brief moment he wondered whether he should’ve probed further, tried to figure out what his hound’s plans of the night were because it seemed to be more personal than just tracking the anklet, at least.  
But all that was discarded when he hit the bottom of his noodle box, chopsticks hitting empty ground and he sighed, slipped down the counter to throw it all away and instead head into the bath only to find another surprise right there, the bathtub not filled but several small preparations made for an enjoyable bath, the bowl of rose petals, the littered candles, a small box containing a bath bomb, and somehow he found himself thinking about just how much time Yanjun must have put into getting all these things, the take out not included, but to prepare the room in such a - not to say romantic but… - romantic way must not have been easy.  
Essentially, it made him query how all the former agents had been treating the caught criminal, how they had been treated, and how much their shared living constellation had changed their dynamic because someone reported so often by the agents could, in no way, be the same person who had so diligently prepared for Zhengting’s evening, even to the point the tired man was forgetting about his desire to sleep in favor of actually taken a bath and if it was just to hone the effort put into pleasing him.

“You did what?” Zhengting nearly screeched rather than yelled as he stared at the copies of documents and pictures of places that were most definitely not to be seen, namely a safe having been opened with all contents spilling out and, honestly, he should’ve seen it coming, by the way Yanjun had a reputation of not behaving himself and rather doing things the illegal way, courtesy of his former occupation, but in nearly two months of no such thing having taken place, he had hoped it would stay that way rather than turning for the worse again.  
Possibly, it would have been something he could have dealt with more easily if not for two quite prominent reasons, one being that it was around three in the morning and the other that he had been asleep until just some moments ago, and he quite treasured his beauty sleep so being woken up by this idiot of a flatmate, dressed in a messy suit and hair tousled up, didn’t help him breaking down on the information he had been handed now.  
But with the informations he had just been handed, or rather, the way they had been occupied, he found himself unable to even consider sleep again, instead he scrambled for his nightstand lamp to illuminate the room more so than the scarce light penetrating from the living room door possibly could, for one, so he could look over at the material more easily, but also because he meant to make his accusing gaze more prominent to the receiving victim.  
“Sit down,” he ordered, feeling oddly satisfied in the way Yanjun immediately dropped down onto the mattress, laying lasciviously rather than sitting properly, but there were better things to worry about than too much revealed collarbone and golden skin, namely the many papers he held in his hands, pictures of blueprints and the attached notes, dozens of routes marked that, after some further inspection, clearly marked lam routes and intrusion ways, important rooms jotted down and handwritten papers of how to plan the whole breaking into a bank as if it were a high school project rather than a serious crime.  
“That’s not our case, Yanjun,” the agent said slowly, tucking in his legs beneath the blanket as he looked at the pictures over and over again, slowly coming to the realization as to where they were coming from, clearly connected to a group of robbers named The Three Little Piggies for the messages they left behind, comparing every facility to the huts blown attempted to or actually blown away by the big bad wolf, and the members of the group were supposed to be three only, a woman and a man working their way into the houses, mockingly never turning off the surveillance cameras so their pig masks could always be seen, and surely supported from an IT-specialist from the behind.  
There had been suspicions voiced about the group never doing it out of a need of money, because none of those bills had resurfaced within the system yet, the stolen jewelry had not yet been sold nor spotted around, it sure was a strange situation to be in, so there had been suggestions about the deeds done not out of urgency but interest, seeking the challenge in crimes and forbidden activities like teenagers wanting to rebel against their parents during the peak of puberty.  
“We can make it our case, chéri,” the thief purred under his breath, intent eyes trained on the younger who only stared back with scorn in his eyes, “I am free to choose any case I want and now we have enough proof to nail down these kids. You should thank me and given your current state…”  
It shouldn’t make him shiver, seeing a lusting gaze travel down his body, what was seen of it, with his arms and parts of his chest revealed by the muscle shirt he wore, further amplified for leaning over the papers, but it did, and he could only be thankful for the con-man not yet having caught sight of his bare legs beneath the blanket or he assumed the teasing would be all the worse, so he rather opted for disappointment instead of having to reveal his own embarrassment, sighing silently, “How did you even get them, Yanjun? You know we’re not allowed to use any proof achieved by illegal measurements…”  
“It’s not illegal if they show you,” the older replied and, really, what was the need in getting closer just to answer, because the proximity between them was only making it harder for him to think, “And those kids did show me all on their own will. They were so eager to flaunt over how they had outdone the great James Lee with their robbings in front of their fraternity that, once I told them of Mr Lee’s little tricks, they were eating out of my hands, showing off their new plans and if their level of intoxication and arrogance for owning blue blood had anything to do with that, I am not to blame.”  
“Kids…? Fraternity?” His eyebrows pulled into a frown naturally as he looked over the other, taking it as excuse to lean back a bit and get a proper look of the outfit the other was scouting currently, the tailored jacket and thigh hugging pants, “In that outfit? And fucking get away already!”  
With a small grunt he tried to push the forger away, wrist caught before he even so much as could touch the formally dressed one, only to find himself down on his back the next moment and trapped beneath a strong body, especially considering he hadn’t woken up properly just yet and Yanjun seemed to be quite eager.  
“Kids, barely out of their mommy’s womb, celebrating big time as they are supposed to as students. And just so you know, it was a themed party so don’t mind me being dressed like this and-”  
“And fucking turn off this soft porn,” a voice from the doorway called out, a female voice, one that had Zhengting frozen in place for a second as he felt quite dumb for getting caught up in such a position with this idiot of a playboy who had even taken his date for the night home yet dared to flirt around as if there was no new morning to come by, but then he remembered better already and started thrashing around until his flatmate had retreated at least so far as that he was able to roll out of bed, taking retreat towards his desk to lean against it while his gaze darted from the stranger woman to Yanjun.  
The latter, currently sitting up and rolling his eyes quite evidently, had oddly become interested in popping the buttons on his shirt, inch by inch more of deliciously golden skin was revealed and-  
“Zhengting, this is Fu Jing, in charge of my… what are you in charge of again?” Eyebrows scooted up as white fabric was pulled out of navy pants, finally revealing a toned upper body entirely, which definitely did no good for the agent’s sleepy and maybe a bit, tiny tad, love deprived mind, one might think he’d be used to it - Yanjun running around shirtless - after nearly two months but it only seemed to become more and more difficult for him by the day.  
“The good looks,” the lady replied before sending a signal towards the government official to follow her, which he gladly did if only it meant to escape his hound’s nakedness, the bright light in the living room making him squint lightly as he headed towards the couch where she was already waiting, typing around on a laptop. “I equipped him with a little camera so you’d get to prove that all he did was acquire information the legal way. It’s all copied onto this stick so hand it in with the pictures he gave you. It should be enough to frame them for all they did, not?”  
Slowly, it seemed to make click in his mind, with a few dots connecting in his mind, and expressed with a soft exhale as he looked at the woman and then at the screen, non-descriptive at the moment. “So the soft porn…”  
“The camera’s still running, I can’t turn it off just like that for cases of emergency,” the female, Fu Jing, he reminded himself, replied, seemed to prove just that as she accepted the jacket handed to her by her partner in crime, probably quite literally so, and pulled off a little black pearl-like something, placed in a small box which triggered a CONNECTION LOST notification to pop onto the screen. “But no worries, I cut off the saving of the recording after he left the frat building. So I might have gotten to see him being disgusting but no one else will.”  
“Ah…” Smart reply, Zhengting thought to himself, gazing at the memory stick placed on the coffee table before the impromptu coordination center was quickly closed down and the lady standing with two bags on her shoulders, just in time for Yanjun to come back to join them in the living room, giving them a once over.  
“Are you leaving so I can devour my prey, Fu Jing?” The thief asked, grinning in a manner that was oddly predator-like but also somewhat adorable thanks to deep dimples, but only received a middle finger flicked at him by his friend, said woman showing the agent a little smile along with her greetings before she went to disappear, and a disapproving look from the pajama clad as he headed for his bedroom.  
Sensing how his forced flatmate was meaning to tease him more, heading into his direction, he could only turn around in his doorway, staring at the con-man with intent eyes. “Listen up, hound. I’ll go back to sleep now and tomorrow we close up this case. No more breaking into my bedroom and especially not tonight. And don’t try to get into there when we both know you only want a curvy woman spreading her legs for you either way.”  
For a moment, there seemed to be a slight twitch on the other’s eyes, some light going out in them, but the agent blamed such thing to be a flicker of imagination conjured by his sleepy state, only gave one warning gaze to the older before he marked the distance between them by closing the door for finality. 

A loud thump of hands slamming down onto his desk not only send his keyboard basically flying, his coffee mug, too, was shaken to the point the liquid had flown over, brown lake spreading on the glass and creeping dangerously close to his acquired evidence, only to be stopped by a tissue he pressed down swiftly, movement graceful and a great opposite to the gaze he gave the senior agent glaring down at him.  
“Theo,” the middle-aged huffed, clearly upset for whatever reason he was sure he'd get to know in a minute, though, and he most definitely did, “Who do you think you are to steal my case! You meager worm, you're merely around for two months and already think highly enough of yourself to catch those pigs I've been chasing down for half a year now?”  
Those words were quite enough to make Zhengting feel like torn into two, for one, he just wanted to get upset with the leader of another team to talk down to him like this, yet there was also that reasonable voice within him eager to protest that it was Yanjun's fault, not his, except it would only backfire.  
Yanjun's mistakes were his mistakes, he held responsibility for all of his personal hound’s doings and he was quite sure that not even pointing out how it had happened in the thief's freetime would help him now, it was resignation worthy, so he did just that, he released a sigh as he got up from his seat, his process on his protocol saved and his mug taken to get rid of the anyways cold coffee, aware of how the other agent in stubborn ways would follow him.  
“Listen, Sir,” he said softly, making sure to use the kind of voice he'd use on upset children, soothing and calm, “I did not intend to steal this case from you. Yanjun merely received a hint from old partners about how these kids meant to outdo his achievements and he investigated on his own accord, in case it might be fruitless regardless. All I did was hand in the evidence he gathered, that they made it mine in the process of it was not my intention. I'll apologize on his and my behalf but please, don't insult me again before I lose my cool.”  
He tried to support his words with a small smile, meaning to make his little speech seem as sincere as he had originally meant it, but it all broke down as he heard the next question, “Do you fuck him? Spread your legs for him?”  
Before he managed so much as get upset in any possible way - aggravated by the accusation, embarrassed, frustrated, or even dare with an intern report - he was interrupted by a knock to the door space of the semi-open room that was the kitchenette, interrupting his flow of emotions as he looked towards his own team leader, a man he talked to maybe once a week because, still, Yanjun was his partner during investigations, not another agent or even the members of his team.  
“The big boss wants to see you,” his superior said in his usual relaxed and joking way, generally, despite strict rulings the man was quite easy company, yet that didn't save the other team leader from getting glared at, maybe a scolding about inappropriate usage of words, but, not wishing to be witness to this, Zhengting just bowed his head lightly before he walked away to find the room in which he had first been told of his assignment called Lin Yanjun, softly knocking against the door.  
An invitation to enter and sit down later, he was faced with the man approaching retirement age, not sure what he had to expect but at least he felt relieved to not feel the air suffocatingly heavy around them, unlike their first encounter, and even the old man seemed to be in brighter spirits today as was evident in his words, “I heard of you catching those Piggies. You did a good job on that. Mister Lin too. Your work with him is going well?”  
“Ah… Yes, Sir,” Zhengting replied slowly, nodding his head and, as no immediate reply followed, he continued, “He's behaving well, unlike those reports I was given before. He's a great help on all the cases we've handled so far.”  
“I'm relieved to hear that. You've set a record that's hard to beat for working with Mister Lin for so long and even with such a great success rate it will be hard to beat for any agent after you,” the superior agent - maybe slowly he should try to figure out his boss’s name and remember it - said awfully thoughtful, as if it was a thought that was still pending about, only for the considerate masquerade to drop once his own face showed confession. “I take it you won’t want to change your partner then?”  
“No, Sir,” was his quick retort, maybe too quick, if going by that smug face of the older that had him bite his tongue right after. “Yan- Mister Lin is a very efficient partner, he manages to do well in a lot of areas even without my meddling and supports me in all cases. If I may ask, though, he never seemed to look for a fight unlike what I read over and I just wondered…”  
Slowly, the senior agent - where was this damn name tag even - shook his head, leaning back in his chair, and this time around the explanation came only belated, “I never heard more than one story about a photography of a dancer and a portrait he was never willing to let go of. Seeing how both that person and you had experience with ballet, I merely took a bet, Mister Zhu, and I’m delighted to see it didn’t backfire on me or we would have been forced to go over our agreement with Mister Lin all over again.”

It had been shortly before midnight that his phone call with Fu Jing, whose number he might or not have sneakily copied from Yanjun’s phone, had ended, thoughts too meddled with this ominous dancer who, truly, had taken a special place in the thief’s heart, the photography the only picture hung up on a bare wall while dozens of forgeries were strewn about the other bedroom, the interior not unlike his and yet, while his room seemed to be cozy after finally having settled in, the fairy lights on the wall and pictures of his family, blood-related or not, back in China hung up, bed littered with pillows, that single photography had taken all the focus in the mirrored room.  
There had only been so much information he had been able to get from her and he hadn’t been sure about whether he was less or more confused after their talking that had also involved more delightful topics in between, but definitely he did now that he was highly annoyed by the noises coming from the other room currently, not like it was all that unusual, he heard women screaming Yanjun’s English name along with pleads, commands, profanities two or three times every other week, should be used to the sound of the bed rocking back and forth, magically never hitting a wall or the mirror, the echo of skin against skin and low grunts and, actually, for a while he had been able to bear with it quite well, on those nights Yanjun went out he had simply put in his earpods before sleeping and turned on music, anything to drown out those noises because it was only that much of a sensory offense.  
This night, though, it seemed highly unusual compared to all the other times, the sounds, the louder they got and faster they came, were bothersome and disrupting his sleep, and at this point he was quite sure that, even if he turned on music now, it wouldn’t help at all, the reverberations would be stuck in his mind, ready to torture him all night long until dawn was rising above the city and sometime the upcoming day, his day off, exhaustion would catch up and he’d pass out on the couch watching TV.  
Surely the most aggravating was that something he usually could just ignore until he was sitting opposite a stranger at the breakfast table was now annoying him to this point of losing sleep, had him tossing and turning in bed until he was leaning onto his side, staring at the wall that would carry a photography in the busy and sex scented room - a lost lover; it really surprised him most how Yanjun was able to screw other people while surely catching sight of this one person in between heavy thrusts, or whatever position he preferred.  
Somehow he had ended up rolled onto his side, painting the very same picture onto his own wall with his eyes, the phantom reflection of it still branded into his brain with his thinking and overthinking, only to revert to punching the pillows because, why the heck, was he even thinking about it so much?  
With a grunt he sat up, thrusting his fist into one of the cushions for one final time, before he dropped his legs over the edge of the bed to leave behind the room, get something to drink in the dim setting that was the kitchen where, add this as cherry on top, no more of those darned sex noises could be heard, making at least his… four-in-the-morning tea more enjoyable, herbal effects calming him down and at least for a moment he was able to indulge in the spirit of one of those useless TV ads where just smelling the scented steam was teleporting the drinking into foreign countries and unknown landscapes.  
His peace, though, only lasted for so long, footsteps tearing him out of his reveries as another figure approached him, nothing but a mass of shadow in the darkness when moving around but it didn’t take much more than a short glimpse for Zhengting to know who was approaching him, how could it even be anyone else but two people, with only one of them being male?  
“Sorry, was she too loud?” The thief said with a grin so overly smug it was giving the agent the urges to just wipe it off that face glistening with sweat from the earlier exercise still, but even with such ambition, he wouldn’t easily be able to win over the con-man, especially not when he was overly tired like right now. “I thought she’s supposed to keep me up, not you.”  
No reply, at times, was the best reply, he figured, as he only opted to take a sip from his tea while averting his sight from the older, preferring to stay with his own thoughts, with the idea of his surroundings still being quiet but, seeing Yanjun rummage through the cupboards still on the search of… whatever it was he was looking for, there was the slowly decreasing sliver of hope he’d be left alone; so he’d rather just give up on his ambitions right now and on his own before he’d get agitated about someone else shattering them. “Is she asleep now?”  
If he didn’t imagine, there was a satisfied glint in the thief’s eyes, as if he was excited that, for once, they’d have a “man talk” involving drinks and sex, except their drinks were water and tea, and the the sex, too, had been a rather one-sided action. “Passed out in bliss. Are you sure you don’t want to experience it too? I could make you feel so good, Zhengting, chèri.”  
Now, he thought, he must really be lacking sleep for his heart to beat heavy in excitement with such offer but it had been over two months now, all along of which he had needed to deal with Yanjun’s blatant flirting and an undying eagerness to get him into a bed that wasn’t his, or maybe it would also be his at such time, and why was he even thinking about which bed they would sleep in when they were never going to do so anyways?  
“Yanjun,” he started slowly, trying to put on his best office face, a polite smile, a mask not to be seen through and thank this acting course he had taken before, “Relationships between agents and other agents - and as my personal hound, you currently count as another agent - should not be encouraged. Therefore, I am not interested to get in on with you. Understood?”  
What he had hoped would put the seal to deal, also known as his turning down the thief once and for all, didn’t exactly seem to do just that, rather the thief looked even more smug, if that was even possible, as he propped a chiseled chin on hands that shouldn’t be all that smooth looking with the amount of effort put into forging arts and other things. “So if I weren’t your hound, I’d have a chance? I guess I’ll only need to work harder in convincing you then.”  
“Lin Yanjun!” Zhengting growled lowly in response, or he wanted to, but no matter how upset he would be normally upon hearing such thing, he was running on too little sleep with getting interrupted in the middle of the night the day before and then not being allowed to sleep on this day, so it shouldn’t be a surprise it was but a low whine that seemed to startle not only himself but also his opposite, the gaze he received soon darkening in a way he definitely didn’t want it to.  
“You must really sound adorable when taken apart with pleasure, Zhengting,” the older immediately purred, which shouldn’t even be allowed after getting it on for hours, as if the whole of this man was against the laws of nature and definitely against the agent’s laws of “Don’t get attracted to your colleagues”. “I’ll look forward to the night I’ll be able to drive you to the peak of ecstasy.”  
“It won’t come, doggy, don’t bother.” It was his final statement on that matter, further supported by his empty tea cup that he only put into the sink as he passed it by on his way out, there was no way to ignore the light still coming from the other bedroom as he went through the living room, one more reason as to why the con-man should be considered an asshole not worth flirting with, letting his one night stand sleep with the lights on, but he didn’t feel like helping out either, he just considered it a helping hand in not stumbling over the countless art supplies lying around in their living room.  
When he finally dropped into bed, it felt like a bliss and a curse at once, the comfort of a soft mattress and cozy blankets a harsh contrast to his still too awake mind that only seemed to spiral around in thoughts he shouldn’t even have, about the nearly five in the morning questions of whether he should just allow Yanjun to nail him once to get it over with and give up on his relentless flirting, only to remember the many yells and moans of the girl next door that he wasn’t sure as to regard as encouragement or turn-off to such a crazy suggestion, or whether he should maybe establish a “Don’t speak to me at home” rule with the forger but then again, that would make his stay at home also highly boring because his lone confinement would be the TV at such time during which he didn’t want to focus on work, dinner would be lonely, too.  
Amidst all this, going in circles thinking about how to make his flatmate finally stop his bothersome flirtings without ruining their work relationship, he remembered the words he had received so many hours ago, questions that should be upsetting but only threw him into another frenzy now - “Do you fuck him? Spread your legs for him?” - and haunted him for the many more minutes he didn’t want to even count that were to pass by until he either passed out from exhaustion or was to be woken up by his alarm despite not sleeping at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because people were asking about this and I actually had some time between my exams, I decided to finish this bit by bit. But because I wrote that over a good two weeks now (I think), the pacing is messed up, the writing varies greatly and all this, all that. I already apologize now.  
> Compared to the first chapter, this is also more emotions-based (interlaced with my weird humor) but, hey, on the bright side - Ziyi made an appearance! May he be blessed! ~~although he probably makes a shitty prosecutor with how nice he's being...~~

It was funny, how easily TV shows and dramas would give people misconceptions about too many jobs, in particular his own job, because whoever thought the FBI would be all about shooting guns and causing explosions and doing the “awesome” stuff, he thought they were highly mistaken, because he was already three hours overtime to his usually early ending Friday and still writing the report on their latest case, which seemed to take forever despite the daily reports and notes he had continuously written during investigations and interrogations, but filing all the evidence and forgeries from their last big fish caught, or get the protocols from the inquiries uploaded not only in their audio format but also transcriptions seemed to take forever with a server performance he considered way overrated, even if this was just for the office and not intelligence.  
There was also the thing with little habits, there were certain sounds or sights out in the field that would trigger their reactions and so he had found himself reaching for his gun during dinner with one of his best friends once, merely because a glass had fallen down from a tray and, funny enough, he hadn’t even carried a weapon that day so he had needed to deal with the teasing for days to come about his own mistake, at least on the bright side he had saved himself some awkward explanation about why he had pulled out his Glock in the middle of a restaurant and off duty, surely only resulting with him scaring away customers, and all that because of dumb field work, except being out to work was still better than being stuck in the office, with an approaching migraine from having stared at his PC screen for hours and backache creeping up his spine.  
Especially, he thought, office work was annoying when someone was sitting just a few feet down, slurping on some slushie or whatever and eyes boring into his head, it was, to say the least, bothersome, and he had to refuse himself to look over because he was too aware that, if he happened to do so, he’d never get to finish this and then he might even need to get to work on a Saturday which, honestly, sounded like hell and worse.  
For the sake of his own mental health, he was still glaring at the screen despite having nothing to do, not when files were still uploading and he could write nothing new but, apparently, just looking at the display wasn’t enough to convince his companion of his state of occupancy, giving him the urge to just throw his keyboard at the older the moment he just so sighed, and especially when the other started talking, “Do you know why everyone keeps saying I’m fucking with you? Or rather, fucking you? I get they’d say it when I’m with a lady because I did indeed get them to yell my name in the bathroom stalls but I never got it on with a dude and-”  
“You’re disgusting,” he interrupted without a care, he was too tired and running on too much coffee and black tea to still consider manners, especially when he had needed to skip lunch because of a meeting and yet he knew one thing, namely, he wouldn’t be able to escape this talk unless those files had finally uploaded and he’d get to continue working, so he could only groan lowly and rub his hands over his face, only to keep them stuck right there, “I don’t want to know about who you fucked and how, or rather, I already do know who it was. But if you never got it on with a guy anyways, could you finally leave me alone and stop hitting on me, you dickbrain? I won’t do it.”  
“You won’t know until you-” For once, and he had to thank all those beings up there, Yanjun was shutting up when receiving his dark glare, he couldn’t deal with this kind of talk because, for one, he was still hanging onto a flimsy thread of sanity for this day, but there was also the matter of a certain dream he had had, a dream he blamed on his own neglected libido, the constant sound of sex that came about every other weekend and such, and the more graphic than preferred description of how exactly he would get nailed depending on the day, but having had one of these dreams had been horrible enough, especially when it had taken half an hour of standing beneath calm water and recalling the worst scenes of murder he had seen to get rid of his morning wood after.   
A little signal from his PC to inform him about uploaded files was followed by the thief to excuse himself to the bathroom, it gave him a short break he gladly took on, selecting some other files to upload before he went to get himself some water from the office kitchen, ignoring the loud grumbles of his stomach because he wasn’t even able to do anything about it, even so, he couldn’t help himself but stare at the boxes of pudding in the fridge, another agent’s name cleanly noted down on the wrapping and serving as a great warning for him to not even consider it, although it would probably helped with him bearing his partner’s awfully awake face when he came back, as if those handsome features just urged to remind him of that he probably looked like death times two.  
“Chéri,” the older started before he had even settled into his chair again, immediately trying to avoid the conversation by uselessly scrolling up and down his work window again, but there still was nothing to do and, unless those last files had finally uploaded, he wouldn’t even be able to send his report off, but it still managed to buy him only so much time before he was bothered by that cruelly smooth voice again, “Will you at least tell me why there’s those rumors going around? I couldn’t even get a date because of them.”  
It was useless, most definitely useless and he felt too exhausted to attempt ignoring the other, so he could only lean back in his not the least comfortable chair and drink a bit, his lips still around the bottle’s opening as he muttered, “Three little piggies. The team leader who was originally in charge was upset with me because of you and accused me. Must have spread around. Makes no sense I’d stick around otherwise, right?”  
“But you are sticking around despite it,” the forger peeked up, seemingly more interested and it was, again, just getting onto his nerves, because why, forbid him asking, just why, wasn’t he allowed to just leave it there and have this talk fade out already? “You’re still sticking around despite always saying you hate me, so maybe it’s the opposite? Maybe you just want to get f-”  
With an annoyed huff he pretty much slammed his bottle down onto his table, serving well in interrupting Yanjun once again, but also worsening the scowl that was on his face, “I stick around because your sexual harassment isn’t valid enough as a reason to change partners because it’s ‘just verbal’, okay? And because I can ‘just suck it up’, no matter how bothersome it is. Not to mention you’re actually working around me and not just fooling around so for whatever reason they think I’m great influence on you, alright?”  
Yanjun didn’t even get to reply yet, not when his PC gave him a notification again and he was finally able to send off the report, merely waiting for the green bar to show up before he closed it all, considering to get angry more often already if only it meant for this dumb device to work faster and, cherry on top, his partner to shut up, nearly aggravating Windows logos showing up before the screen was black and serving as well enough of a sign for him to collect his things, one arm through the sleeve of his coat when he spotted the con-man still sitting there, unmoving. “Can we fucking go home already? Or do you want to stay the night in the office?”  
Which, considerably, wouldn’t be a good idea, leaving a forger with FBI material, even he was aware of that, but his constant growling and hissing seemed to get a move into the older, finally moving and grabbing his stuff too, so they could head to the elevators together, taking the ride to the ground floor to finally and eventually leave this place that seemed like a hellhole after days of overtime and having to deal with Yanjun without break.  
They were still within the confinement of the metal cage when the other spoke up again, voice more quiet and nearly… shy… except that seemed impossible with someone who was actually sitting on a horse as tall as a skyscraper, “I’m sor-”  
“Save it,” he interrupted, even just thinking of an apology already causing a pang to his heart he wasn’t good whether to consider as painful or thankful, he just knew he didn’t want it, didn’t want a lie or even an honest excuse, both would mean having to adjust his today’s point of view of the thief as an annoying asshole and that, unfortunately, would consider some thinking, which would be more bearable on a day his brain hadn’t been deep fried about five times and turned into a useless black and burnt thing. “Just… save it. Get us a taxi, order some food, and, for god’s sake, don’t say another word today.”  
And whoever he had to thank, he would gladly do so, because that order seemed to be easy enough, the ride home silent, their dinner silent and, eventually, even him falling into bed after a shower had taken place in silence, the only interruption merely some notification from his phone which he’d gladly ignore for the sake of sleep.

Distance, he had come to realize during the time he had been supposed to watch a movie in the near darkness of a cinema hall, during the time he should have paid attention to the happenings on the screen rather than just lingering in thoughts and playing with another hand, was a funny thing, and the way it affected relationships in such varying ways was confusing in a way that was bordering on disturbing to him, it was also something he hadn’t been able to predict at all or ever, because it was just that diverse in appearance he had always struggled to put a finger on it.  
When he had first decided to become part of the FBI rather than going home to join the police forces there, when his parents had said to go back to their homeland with his high school graduation, he had thought he wouldn’t maybe miss them much, that he’d enjoy his freedom and all, yet he had ended up calling his parents or sister in turn because training was harsh and he had felt like crying at least once a week, not to mention it was reassuring to hear familiar voices after they had been so suddenly robbed from him after nearly two decades of being together, and then it had morphed, now he couldn’t even remember the last time he had talked to them, all he had were messages exchanged on irregular terms, a “Good morning!” here and “Did you have dinner yet?” there and the time difference was making it all the harder for them to actually keep up contact when he was starting to drown in work and his parents were putting in some last effort before retirement.  
Contrary, he hadn’t missed Ziyi much, the boy he had more or less grown up with because they had been the Chinese kids in school, someone he had had his first kiss with because that was what pubescent boys questioning their sexuality did, sharing kisses with their best friends, only for the younger to announce that “Nope, this feels like kissing my brother” and Zhengting had been forced to morph his first crush into simple friendship again and since he was a great defender of the theory that a friendship that had survived that crushing phase was a friendship to be kept forever, and they had kept it, their texts somewhat more regular thanks to similar time zones but there hadn’t been any interest in cheesy phone calls or anything, and with the thought of his childhood friend being just a three hour drive away and well kept in university, he had somehow never considered the distance between them as all that bothersome.  
Until he had actually met up with his closest friend, that was, with that warmth of coming home spreading throughout his chest and making him feel comfortable again, at ease, he hadn’t even realized how much he had missed the other until the sudden announcement of a visit and, although he didn’t know the reason behind the visit yet, he hadn’t been able to refuse it, had looked for an escape to his activity as a babysitter but maybe it hadn’t worked all that well because even while around his juvenile first love and apparently watching a movie, his thoughts had still been drifting back to Yanjun and to how the distance to the older was, at the same time, relaxing and nerve wrecking.  
It was calming to not have to bear with getting hit upon all throughout the day, it surely must be similar to the feeling of a mother getting away from her screaming baby for even just five minutes, but it didn’t ease him entirely, not when he was busy painting pictures of the many troubles the forger could get into while he had his phone at home and wasn’t to be reached, making sure his day off was actually a day off in exchange for telling his younger companion a very specific location and time for them to meet up for the sheer lack of a phone in his pockets, and to increase the burden on his heart, he found himself reminded of his teenage years, how he’d always invite someone over when his parents were gone and wondering whether his work partner would do so too, whether those nightly activities were growing into daily activities and it was making him queasy, evident in the way he was still playing with that warm hand between his fingers even as they were on the way out of the movie theater and towards wherever it was that had been mentioned before.  
So if anyone had asked him how exactly they had reached this little cozy coffee house with its balcony seats and flowery plants and fairy lights, he had honestly no clue but if there was one person he could trust on such matters, it was the one and only Wang Ziyi - who was also currently watching him in a quite scrutinizing way, at least as far as those gentle puppy eyes could carry any judgement in their wake, and there was no looking for detours or evading it, only an as blunt as it was tender hearted question of, “You want to talk about it?”  
“Because you’re my lawyer and have to keep silent?” There was somberness lying beneath his teasing words because if he were to talk about it, he was aware he’d go against one or another regulation, he wasn’t quite sure he was allowed to say he had partnered up with a convicted criminal or not but, at least he if avoided the mention of any case, he could consider it a somewhat safe call, which only lead to the core of his best friend’s question for he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to talk about it, or what to say in first place, so he could only play around with a tissue lying around as he considered it for a while, well beknown of the fact that his opposite would the one and only to keep all his secrets, not only for the approaching crossing of their working fields with the other’s dream of prosecution and all. “I got a new partner…”  
Apparently, he had aroused his platonic dates’s interest, for whichever reason it was, it could be simple concern or just the matter of the unexpected kind of reply he was given but the open and trusting expression he was faced with prompted him well in going on with his little speech, “It’s a bit of a… complicated situation though. He’s not an agent per se so he needs my surveillance, starting with shared working hours to actually living together and… I don’t know…” With a frustrated sigh he dropped the crinkled up paper onto the table, only to shush it away when the waitress arrived with their orders of drinks and food and, therefore, giving him some time to consider his further phrasings. “He’s always… Let’s just say he has a certain reputation and it’s affecting my office times too, with the amount of rumors spreading recently and all and it’s really just tiring me out…”  
“And did you?” There was no judgement in these words directed at him and, in a way, that was the most soothing, to know that even though his own co-workers were gullible to rumors, less because of his own savour but more so because of Yanjun’s, at least Ziyi, who had no further idea of the situation, was thoughtlessly trusting him and just considerate of Zhengting’s feelings alone.  
“I don’t sleep with other agents,” he muttered slowly, poking his fork into the risotto on his plate, mixing the grated cheese on top with the dish as if that would help him sort out his thoughts, those that were a whole mess because the longer he thought about it, the weirder it became, all because of the way that was their situation and with just one or two prerequisites, of them sharing mutual affection, of putting a different name than just “partners” to their relation, it would truly be just like any other romantic interest and he wasn’t sure whether that fact alone wasn’t just encouraging the jumbled mess of his thoughts.  
For a moment there was silence, quietude and just tasting their dishes, eating and drinking away for a minute or two, and then he felt like being shot into his back by a whole cannon and fired by no one other than his best friend when said one asked, “But he isn’t a proper agent, is he?”

The last time he had considered going out, with strobing lights and beats thrumming through his whole body thanks to the booming basses reverberating throughout the floor, with sweaty bodies and people rutting against others to the point he was questioning whether he wasn’t supposed to file for disorderly conduct, had been exactly one week ago, as Ziyi had asked him whether they’ll catch up on missed college times, which only his best friend had attended, after all, once the mentioned would finally be moving to New York, they were certainly going to have a lot of fun at such times, but no way would he have considered being dressed in skin tight clothes and revealing clothes because of their profession, allowed to drink moderately with an excuse of having to pass as a normal club visitor because he was only around for intel, he was supposed to only catch some deal on cam, not to actually pull out his badge and cause a ruckus amongst people, which would be useless anyways, considering he had neither that nor a weapon on him.  
“You need to pay attention, chéri,” a low voice whispered into his ear, catching him off guard more because such intimacy was sending a shiver down his spine, with warm breath hitting his skin and all, it hadn’t been about the unexpectedness of such occurrence, actually, nothing was all that unexpected when he was out on a scouting with a whole playboy, the lingering touches and heated gazes he had been exposed to ever since he had appeared in their shared living room, with his ripped jeans looking like painted on rather than an additional layer of fabric and oversized shirt constantly slipping down one shoulder and bordering on obscenity in the way the seams just so graced the belt holding denim up to his hips. “With your standing around like this and not doing much, people will assume you’re here for a fling and not to have fun.”  
He wasn’t even surprised with the heat of such well known body pressing against his and arms trapping him in between, hands clasped around the railing that was separating the platform that was the bar with lounge seats from the dance floor beneath, also to be considered his viewing platform, enabling him to catch sight of the door at the back he was supposed to keep an eye on, not to mention the thought of drowning amongst a sea of people was quite as appealing as it was repelling, he wanted to just go into there, have his fun, get drunk and wasted and lose himself to the beat, except if he were to actually do so, he would forget about the original reason of their being around and then he’d have to come back again, with Yanjun in tow once more, and his partner already seemed to be enjoying this way too much with the way he felt a nose nuzzle against his neck, prompting him to tilt his head aside while he tried to convince himself it was only for the purpose of an act.  
“I don’t see why you’d want to separate these two matters,” he muttered under his breath, yet aware it was loud enough for the older to hear, body more urgent in pressing him against the metal bars in front and it seemed all too easy to follow all the little guiding touches that would make them look like a pair of strangers about to hit it off or like a couple that had come out to have fun, only betrayed by his gaze never striving from his targeted area too much or he’d end up missing something. “You always go out to have fun and end up with a fling, just like an old debaucher.”  
“Take care, chéri, I won’t be able to hold myself back if you keep making things sound like an invitation,” the older purred and the smirk was easily imagined on those plush lips, dimples showing in a manner that wasn’t innocent and charming but entirely cocky and deserving of a dickhead as was the con-man he was partnered with, he was quite certain no other pair of investigators would be flirting around as much and with half a mind he took note that anyone who was to hear the recordings of their conversation would be certain to put emphasis on the rumors surrounding them since a few weeks now, he could only pray for Jinna to take pity on him and toy with the audio to the point at least these things would end up drowned out by the club music in the back.  
The lovely woman also be blessed for interrupting their conversation swiftly, the small earpieces easily carrying her smooth voice to stay afloat above the loud background thanks to their snug little position in their hearing organs, sounding awfully not-disturbed by what she had to hear, and he noticed with a pang that she must be used to it, working with Yanjun for so long, after all, “Snyson just left his office and entered the car. With the current traffic he should still need another half an hour or something until he arrives, I advise you to enjoy it for the time being, Zhengie.”  
“Did you just skip me, Jinna? Is this how you think of our years of friendship?” The con-man sounded way too dramatic for his sober brains to be able to take it, making use of the little diversion to slip out beneath golden arms revealed by an unusual attire of a muscle shirt, careful strides carrying him to the bar to get another one of those cherry bounces that had him hooked for the night, bourbon actually so intense he had to think it over double whether he wanted to chug it, ice cubes nearly molten by the time he would have reached the bottom of the glass and that, actually, was something he took quite some delight in.  
But despite having to work his way past people to get to the bar and back, he found way too little time having passed as he returned to their observing point, elbows resting on the railing, arm brushing against the bare one next to him and his consciousness ignoring the raised eyebrows he wasn’t sure where intent on telling him of the surprise about his drinking or the fact he hadn’t brought something for the other too, and either way, it didn’t matter much, not when he was avoiding to be indulging his partner’s attention for longer than needed anyways, rather focusing on nipping his drink and chewing the straw and moving his one leg to the rhythm of the music, watching over the many people half a floor beneath them, moving to the music in a way that should be considered disastrous to any proper dancer, no discipline and yet, no one would come to a club to look for discipline in first place anyways.  
“Snyson is close,” Jinna updated them after some time that had seemed awfully long and yet too short, making him suddenly aware of the way their positions had shifted, had him wonder just when he had ended up forced into a corner, his back against a wall and Yanjun shielding him from offensive eyes, head resting heavily on his shoulder in an angle that seemed just right to suggest more than merely breathing against his skin was happening, and with what he considered was his spaced out face, he must have clearly added his part to their little situation at the moment that had people sending him curious gazes and one or another look, mostly from women, that depicted a mixture of sexual interest and this unhidden “such a guy being gay is such a waste” expression. “He should be at the doors in a minute or two so pay attention.”  
For a moment he had to reflect on just how it had turned out the female was in charge of their tech support when they were supposed to have some agents for such matter at hand and why someone he hardly knew was always half-involved with their cases while he couldn’t even tell his childhood friend about his situation openly and for a way shorter moment he considered setting these two up before pushing such thought away immediately, Ziyi might be the straightest man he knew but he shouldn’t just set him up for such reason, that for sure, and just as he wiped such consideration off his mind, he could already see the one man they were supposed to observe arrive at the club, passing by bouncers with an ease that might as well have been a neon lights banner saying OWNER.  
“Hey,” he said silently, nudging the glass holding his diluted drink into Yanjun’s side to get his attention and he felt more than saw the way his partner was turning his head to watch the same man too, silent instructions from Jinna’s side telling him just how to adjust his head so their different cameras could catch it all on film, the one embedded into the forger’s ear stud and one embedded to the glass of the watch decorating his own wrist, both recording what they could still somewhat glimpse from the entangled state they were in for a cover.   
Club owners like Carl Synson, he had found out already some time ago, were painfully oblivious to any danger as long as they were able to show off, ignorant to the idea of wrapping up deals in a hidden because their guards were looking only for certain types of investigators, most definitely no one expected people looking like him or the thief to be pursuing law when they could get way easier jobs and it were such little loopholes along with blatant cockiness that would be their downfall, because the curtains of the VIP lounge were currently pulled back, revealing velvety red couches and the small dance stage that was soon occupied by one and another pretty girl selected from the crowd below, and showing off was the reason they currently able to catch it on camera so well.  
It didn’t take long, actually, to wait for a second person to walk up to the elevated room, the tube that would carry just another unspecified illegally traded picture handed over in exchange for a case of money, and he was still praying for Snyson to be stupid enough to just unroll the painting right there when suddenly he felt the rigidness of the body pressed against his own, once again reminded of just how close they were, just how much of the other’s build he could feel, and there was a familiar heat of redness creeping up the back of his neck, hidden by the shadows and his hair, glancing down at the con-man who had his gaze directed elsewhere now. “You okay there?”  
The first reply he received was a mere grunt and then, again, instead of verbal agreement all he received was a mouth pressed into his, not hesitating to lick past his lips and claim what wasn’t supposed to be seized, making him mewl low in his throat for what he wanted to say was sexual deprivation and not actually the skill of his partner-in-law, which would also be highly inappropriate and despite all that, it had him recalling Ziyi’s question from days ago - “But he isn’t a proper agent, is he?”  
Even just recalling his query had Zhengting urging to push the older away, but there was something about this kiss, something that definitely wasn’t just skill, there was an urgency to it that didn’t speak of the wantonness but to just keep still for a moment, forcing him to divert some of the focus he had put into their little contact to their surroundings instead, eyes working well in catching sight of the only one person who didn’t fit the ambiance of a club that might seem high in standards with their luxurious drinks but was just another place to wallow in cheap vices, not with a suit that seemed to be of some designer brand’s name and would be too precious for any normal man to wear to a place where drinks might be spilled all over it any moment, posture too uptight to fit with the clubbing people just looking for some fun and letting loose for a night.  
Said man was way too close for his own comfort, while simultaneously being just within the vicinity that had him easily slide his hand into golden strands of hair, pulling at them in a way that would suggest intimacy when, actually, it was only to get the right posture for the camera to catch the face of the stranger his current kissing partner seemed to know, Jinna’s voice not giving away whether or not she was aware of his identity either but as long as they weren’t discovered and got all the right material for a search warrant, he didn’t find himself caring much, sooner or later he’d find out anyways. 

Without noticing, weeks had passed, weeks of Ziyi finally graduating and moving into the city, it had resulted into his weekends spent in more relaxed manners, whenever he didn’t actually need overtime or babysit Yanjun for whatever reason, and he hadn’t even been aware of the increasing time he had spent outside, not when looking for decorations for the new apartment and helping settle in had taken away his focus, at least he hadn’t spent time wondering about such fact until he came back late one afternoon, sun close to setting in the far distance that was visible from the widespread living room front, illuminating Yanjun in a stance he wasn’t really used to, a paint brush stuck between soft lips, settled on one of those sprawled around bar chairs, staring at a canvas he couldn’t see from his current angle.  
He couldn’t pinpoint just what it was this moment, maybe it was the casual reminder of a brush touching the tender skin he had felt against his own lips that he was reminded of just that fact, of how great that kiss had felt, a kiss that had haunted him for days to come, always pushed aside with an excuse of neglected libido, and eventually replaced by those two days he had taken off work to help his best friend move all stuff from a tight college dorm room to an awfully spacious apartment that had reminded him once again that his childhood friend was actually loaded and could easily afford such things without having to work within the field of law, but it was the memory of such hazy moment that had been overshadowed by a zeal he blamed on drinks and his underlying need to do his work rather than enjoy a heated moment he wouldn’t have allowed to happen under any other circumstance and that now had him freezing in his spot like a stupefied pubescent, ripped out only when hearing the snapping of fingers from a few feet down. “I know I look great, chéri, but no reason to start drooling now.”  
Wonder was filling his brains because - just when had Yanjun’s teasing tone become something homely to him? He couldn’t pinpoint that, and neither did he want to dwell on the thought, so he only released a low gruff before heading into his room, getting rid of his outside clothes to rather change into something comfortable, leaving even his phone behind to charge as he instead settled on the couch in the living room, craving to relax with some stupid movie now and having his partner order food later on, knowing he’d be too lazy to get neither his phone nor dash out a dish of his own, but he hadn’t even managed to grab the remote when he was startled out of tired daydreams again. “You’re out a lot recently, chéri. Found a girlfriend finally?”  
“Didn’t,” he only lazily replied, twisting his neck to finally catch a glimpse of what the forger was painting actually, but he had never been an expert an art, making it all the more ironic that he had to work in exactly this department now, so he could only stare at the canvas for a while before he pointed out, “You’re aware I’ll have to mark it so you can’t sell it as an original, right?” Actually, now that he looked around, the amount of paintings laying around the mixture of living room and studio had awfully increased, before the empty whites had dominated the varying designs, he hadn’t even noticed when it had turned out to be the other way around, the stacks of had also increased and, if he thought closely, now it explained why he had needed to take the trash out all that much more often, it was all for the increase of creative work around their home and that, in return, had him wonder just when this had started.  
Before, he had always considered there was not as much time to work the arts, there was less goad to forge art if it was impossible to sell, thus he had considered the whole playing around as some sort of refuge for the older, meaning now that there was more art around… There was a light scowl on his face as he tried to remember when the last time he had seen a visitor had been, with his falling asleep so tightly at night, he hadn’t considered the lack of noise, and going out for breakfast or brunch instead of staying in at home had somehow made him neglect any thought of a visitor to their apartment, it most definitely did explain the matter of increasing artistry around their place, it did not, though, explain just how he had become blind to such obvious things.  
“The best secrets kept are the ones easiest to spot…” Those were words muttered to himself rather than the thief and yet he could feel the questioning gaze thrown into his direction, there was no teasing reply thrown at him which could have been caused for the low volume of his words but there was an evident truth of this having been their most peaceful conversation since… maybe for ever since they had known, in fact. “Say, doggy, when did you stop sleeping around?”  
Once again he had to twist his neck to be able to watch the older properly, to gauge the reaction he’d received, surprise morphing into disdain that had him scowling deeper, in confusion this time but maybe also for the soreness spreading through his neck for the uncomfortable position he was currently in, and then that handsome face shut off, as if to hide something they seemed to have already become aware of, it was just a second of catching glimpse of it before the con-man turned towards his canvas again, brush following invisible lines in tentative brushes, bristles moving against prepared surface the only sound that seemed to fill the room whenever it wasn’t interrupted by the squelching of color.   
The lack of an answer seemed to make exactly that just all the more obvious, had him wondering just what this one night had to do with it all, it was a puzzle he couldn’t piece together, one that threw him into a flurry of questions of whether it was connected to the single picture of a boy hanging in an otherwise empty bedroom, to the decline in flirty outings directed at him, to the denial of sex to flee into art once again, it was one question after another and each formed those mismatched shatters that were supposed to create a full whole and yet there were too many pieces missing to be able to make an actual sense of them.   
Quite some time had passed, time during which he had turned on the TV again and the black hole called his stomach was opening up again, his sloth senses fighting against his need to eat, settled on a peace treaty that would end with the first demanding grumble of his organs, and it was about the time he expected to hear just that sound when instead he perceived another question coming from a few pillow lengths down the room, “If it’s not a girlfriend, who’re you meeting all the time?”  
“Not like it matters to you,” he started automatically, finding himself not even minding the conversation despite knowing some months before he would have rather choked the thief than told anything about his personal life, clutching the pillow to his stomach a bit tighter, as if it would suffocate any possible growling, and went on, “but it’s my best friend. We didn’t see much of each other for some years and stuff… He moved here recently, started working in prosecution. There’s a chance you’ll run into him one day.”  
“You won’t introduce me privately?” There was something to these words, some hidden tone, underlying meaning, Zhengting wasn’t exactly sure he could put his finger on, neither did he know whether he’d want to, it suddenly felt all too intimate and he hadn’t been close on a verbal and emotional way to anyone for years, relationships not really something to do while wanting to become an agent, those phone calls shared the maybe most indulging thoughts he had had and it made him queasy, had him clutching onto his pillow more tightly now as he considered it.  
“And how am I supposed to do that?” His tone came out more dryly than he would have wanted to but now he couldn’t help it, all of a sudden he felt exhausted, as if the strain from all the previous weeks and months of being flirted with, of moments that were bordering on molestation, of just needing to shut the older out, suddenly caught up to him within this single moment. “‘Look, Ziyi, this is my sleuth, he’s a convicted criminal’? It’s better not to mingle work with private matters anyways.”  
That, he supposed, was a principle he had had for years now, actually, even before this career, if he took it closely, his two boyfriends from school days, too, they had been from different schools, it had been like jumping borders, from school to family, from family to relationship, from relationship to friendship, from friendship to school, he hadn’t laced them often, and despite such awareness he wondered why, just this time, stating the obvious left a bitter note in the back of his throat, like eating something bad but the odor not disappearing, it felt churning and dark, it was devouring his energy and it choked his throat tight even when the sun had set and they were sitting around the kitchen table poking into boxes of take out, the growing pressure cutting off his famine, effectively erasing his need to do anything but mindlessly watch TV if only that would help drowning out the blaring blankness of his mind. 

It was a late night, again, and he wasn’t sure whether he should feel upset with the amount of overtime hours he was working currently, wrapping up a handful of reports and, because he was a rookie, those didn’t just involve those of his own cases, which he considered to be bearable as long as no one would approach him saying something about Chinese and loving to work more going hand in hand one more time, although it had been just one time so far, admittedly, or whether he should feel relieved about having yet another chance at avoiding Yanjun, which was funny, in the beginning he would have done anything to get away from the non-stop flirting, the blatant lines, but now he was close to missing it, honestly, it was crazy, and he wasn’t certain whether it was just the delirium of too little sleep and too much caffeine or whether he should fault it to the awkward atmosphere around their shared place.  
Except he wasn’t even sure whether it was actually awkward, or stiff, or anything of that sort, if he had to be entirely honest, and he would never swear his honesty on such matter for sure, it seemed oddly… comfortable… As if they had finally settled in, in their home, with each other, with their routine and work, it should be a given after nearly half a year but he would still deem it impressive regardless, and, at least to the other’s credit, he considered a great amount of it had to do with how the whole sleeping around ordeal had stopped, there was no more getting disturbed while resting because of some woman making noises of ecstasy unnecessarily loud, the awkward mornings of having to send a one night stand home instead of the respective host, and yet he couldn’t shake off the feeling of how something else had changed, something had changed ever since that one night at the club and he wasn’t even sure what exactly it was, it seemed as if all the obvious reasons were only around to hide the secret ones.  
Despite all that, it felt like a huge burden was taken off his shoulder once he reached his bedroom, getting to drop off his working case, the keys to the office and all, only turning on the smaller light near his desk after, as if the lack of illumination would aid in further easing him up, regardless, it was also that single lamp that illuminated one of his most recent concerns again, the single sketch of his face, it must have been an afternoon of falling asleep at the couch, at least he wanted it that way, it was easier to handle than the thought of Yanjun slipping into his room at night to do just that, and it didn’t even hurt him in the heart to admit it looked wonderful, despite not being shy of his looks, this one made him look all the better, as if each stroke had been done with the same carefulness as was needed to hold a baby or a treasured lover, it had him feel all sorts of ways and none he wanted to mention out loud.  
He hadn’t planned on stealing it, because just keeping it without mention should surely be considered as such, but when he had found this one and a handful more some days ago, one of those nights he had come back late, to Yanjun having fallen asleep on the couch not unlike him at times, only left to be covered with a blanket, he hadn’t been able to refuse himself keeping the one he found most beautiful, most intimate, and that was the story of how he had kept that single one and put it onto his desk while all others had ended up on the artist’s desk again, scattered around lightly so it wouldn’t be too obvious, but there were moments he wished he hadn’t seen them, more often than not, because he couldn’t make sense of them, and he couldn’t make sense of that other thing, the new canvas that had rested at the bottom of the floor, below that single picture of a dancer that had previously haunted his mind, the only one addition to a wall that had been bare save that one painting, and it made him question a lot of things, was overworking his brain all over again and yet he was too tired to even start a proper thought in first place.  
Maybe too lost in front of the painting, he hadn’t noticed any of the noises outside, approaching steps and that distinct sound of bare feet on hardwood flooring, so it shouldn’t be a surprise he nearly fell over from the shock of someone suddenly calling out to him, no less catching him in the middle of his deeds, “Do you like it that much?”  
“I…” Secretly and silently, hidden in his head, he cursed the way his brain decided to fail him just that moment as he looked at the thief, looking uncomfortably homely in his pajamas but he might just admit it seemed to be only him to feel out of order, for just as many reasons as one of his hands held fingers, those that were currently brushing over the drawing paper, to be exact. “You knew…?”  
“That you took away one of my drawings?” One of the older’s eyebrows went up in a nearly accusingly questioning manner, as if that was a question for the stupid, maybe it even was, he didn’t really want to just be able to wonder about that, he just wanted to sink into the oblivion of being too tired to work his mind, and even that he couldn’t do as the con-man just turned around in the middle of their certainly unfinished conversation. “I ordered Chinese for dinner.”  
Translating to, “Are you coming to eat now?” despite the unholy time, with the skyline illuminating his behind from the glass front in a way that might even resemble a night sky if not for the angling of it, and he only needed to look at it for a second to make his decision to follow fast, loosening his tie on the way and dropping his jacket onto the couch to pick up later for his aim was the kitchen, and once reaching there, he was already settled at the table while different dishes were spread out on plates for them to eat from, or carelessly poke into them, in his case. “Kind of funny that we’re Chinese, living in America and still ordering the cheap copy of our national dishes…”  
Without looking up, he could see the shrug of shoulders from his opposite that had him sighing softly before putting a piece of pork into his mouth already. “It’s a taste of home,” the other suggested softly, words followed by the noises of eating for some moments, until, “You could have just asked about keeping this picture, chéri.”  
“And you could have just asked about drawing me,” he retorted dully, still just swishing the one use chopsticks through the dishes as he contemplated what to eat, or whether to eat at all, he felt somewhat tied up inside right now.   
“Would you have let me?”  
It was a question that worked all the better in shutting him up, even feeling somewhat guilty, he was certain he wouldn’t have easily admitted to studies of himself, the thought of Yanjun staring at him so intently, studying all of his expressions, all the little details of his self, it made him antsy just thinking about it, and that was in spite of the beauty that had been the end result. “The painting…”  
“You like it?” An answer so simple it was putting him off in the way it was said so easily and confidently, not like sudden shyness and slight embarrassment would fit the man who had once recited him quite shameless and explicit pick-up lines just because they had had a drink to their dinner, but there was no intention of hiding the truth of it evident, maybe because it was useless to hide it anyways, he had seen it already, after all. “Or are you planning to question it?”  
“Your report said you don’t ever paint any originals but these two…” He wanted to correct his own earlier assumption, it wasn’t just the thought of having to sit still and getting drawn that made him antsy, this very talk made him feel antsy already, had him urgently forbid himself from squirming lightly in his state and instead attempt to keep calm by, eventually, stuffing his mouth with some pork.  
“Because I don’t,” was the plain reply, one that carried a meaning of hidden words and other truths, the kind that had him tense up slightly in anticipation of whether there was more to come, little strums of electricity running down his spine and making him feel like a guitar spun too tight. “The first time I did… Chéri, are you actually trying to get closer to me by knowing more about my past? And I had already thought this would be a hopeless case - you and me, together.”  
For some odd reason, Zhengting didn’t bother looking for an explanation for this time around, the little attempt at flirting didn’t even get him upset, such little banter even made it more comfortable for him, in some crazy and confusing way, and he was aware it had been meant as some way of distraction, so he felt oddly surprised about a little raise of his eyebrow being all it took for him to prompt Yanjun into talking again, “His name was Yiyang… And without the details - we were dating for a while, all this first kiss, first love, first date matter. It was a quite pretty time. Until it wasn’t.” As if the story was quite as physically exhausting as would be to lift an anvil with one’s tongue, the storyteller sank into the backrest of the chair, chopsticks restlessly drumming against of the age of one plate, the only sound filling the room aside from their breathing until the story was picked up again. “I wanted to gift him the picture but I guess his parents - his mother - was able to recognize my intentions within my strokes. I should’ve seen it coming, she was an arts professor, after all. But to make it short… His parents were quite conservative and I never got to see him again after. The painting I received per mail.”  
Somehow, there seemed to be a hidden meaning within the story, one he honestly couldn’t grasp at the moment, despite its imminent presence, it was like wanting to build a castle from stray sand, dust wafting around, impossible to take a hold of, impossible to catch with his hand just like that, and it would be too exhausting to start a hopeless attempt, so without even trying, he had already given up. 

There were two events this night that seemed utterly inexplicable to Zhengting - although, in retrospect, they would most definitely make sense - because, for one, he had no idea just how he had ended up with his back pressed against a wall and lips pressing into his in a more than just messy way, even in his evidently drunk state, he could easily figure out this was a bad kiss, too much tongue, too much trap, the underlying taste of cheap but hard alcohol, all in all, it made one of the worst kisses he had ever received and, worst of all, he didn’t even knew who it was to kiss him, he’d bet on it being one of Ziyi’s co-workers, two or three of whom his best friend even knew from university days, for aside from him no other proper friend was attending this celebration for “distance matters” and now he felt rather relieved he wasn’t even sure a woman or a man were kissing him because it saved him the embarrassment he’d otherwise have to suffer if he actually could remember or at least filter, and so he had only decided to keep his eyes closed, honestly, in this dim corner and with his blurry sight he wouldn’t recognize anything anyways, and allowed the other person to do whatever, he was too drunk to care.  
Which, ultimately, led to the second scene of unbelievable happenings, namely, Yanjun standing in front of him now, he figured this all too familiar scent of shampoo and well known low voice served better in realizing that much than sloppy kisses or proper sight could, the grip firm on his shoulder burning through his clothes with searing heat and then, also, there was a question forming in his head about why his partner was here and how his flatmate could possibly know where he had been and just so many more hows and whys and yet, all that left his lips was, “Your kiss… You’re the best kisser… I think I- I deserve another kiss… Right now…”  
That was the point he had to draw the line because the next thing he remembered was a bunch of lights streaming past outside the window, looking so mesmerizing and sparkly and utterly fascinating… And then there was warmth engulfing him and a glass pressed against his lips which he emptied slowly, cold water freezing its way down his throat but, effectively, clearing his mind to the point he could realize he was settled in his bathtub at home, tan fingers securing the glass that might have slipped his fingers otherwise but he also had a hunch that Yanjun was only sitting next to him for the rare case of self-induced dumbness of drowning in one’s own tub, and he’d admit that was a possibility currently.   
Maybe he had looked a bit too desperate still because he was soon handed another round of icy liquid that he still, obediently, downed carefully before deeming himself off well enough to sink back into the water and rest his head against the edge careful, aware of the worried gaze lingering on his frame that he couldn’t do anything about, wouldn’t even know how to, he couldn’t remember the last time someone had needed to pick him up because he had been too drunk, there had just been no time for it, in between having to sort through various sorts of trainings and studying for his law exams.  
Some moments or maybe even minutes might have passed that were filled with silence, interrupted once for the clinking of glass against the tiled floor and then, “He’s nice, your friend. He called me to pick you up after you started to ramble about how nice my place is, apparently.” There was a teasing undertone to these words but even flicking some water droplets at the older to reprimand him seemed to be too straining right now. “I thought this should be considered our place already, not? After all, you stayed here longer than anyone ever had before…”  
“Can’t be mine without my name on the documents,” he muttered softly in return, slipping further into the water so he could blame the heat he could feel on his cheeks to the temperature of his soapy bath rather than being embarrassed for what he had heard. Our place. “And is impounded by the FBI too…”  
“I’m impounded by the FBI too…” Those words, despite undoubtedly being flirty, seemed to hold more meaning, it was just like their talking over Chinese food merely the week before, when there had been this same sensation, of wanting to build a castle of sand but all he received was flying dust, he wasn’t able to put a word onto it despite the meaningful gaze Yanjun was giving him now, making him feel small within the tub, within their bathroom and the whole world, as if he was the only dumb one for not getting it. “Captured and chained by just one agent…”  
Somehow those words had him shooting up, he didn’t know why, definitely so, or he would have done something besides staring at the thief, didn’t even know whether to flinch back or not when he realized just how close they exactly were, it was making him feel like a butterfly within the vast universe all over again but nothing did stop him from leaning into the gentle caress to his cheek, regardless, nor the whole matter of leaning in and feeling warmth against his lips, a kiss that was chaste and simple and soft and tasted of shea butter, the other’s usual choice of lip balm, and then there was hunger.  
Like an ancient monster that had been woken from its deep slumber, hungry and eager to get fed, he edged closer to the other, shifting within the water and his whole weight to attempt clawing at that pristine white shirt, to soak it with his slippery fingers just as much as he wanted to chew on those soft lips and feel more, feel more of those kisses, of touches, of body pressed against body and… he took hold of nothing.  
The warmth was gone and he had to realize in shock, and some painful seconds of opening his eyes and getting blinded like an idiot, that the other had pulled back, a step or two away from the tub, just out of reach, with pupils blown wide but eyebrows furrowed and it wasn’t the kind of expression he was supposed to see right now, wanted to see right now, he wanted to see ecstasy and joy and signs of that this was mutual because, after all, he had been flirted with for months now so why was the one time he acted upon it rejected so cruelly, making him feel torn between getting upset or just whining like a spoiled child, like a weight that was swinging through the air like a pendulum, deciding where to drop just yet, just like this really old game of wanting to build a skyscraper and dropping floors and not falling over, except falling over meant he was deciding for one of two lows.  
“We can’t do this, chéri, not when you’re drunk,” the other finally said after some heavy weighing silence, it had felt like hours but apparently and as he was told by the state of bubbles within his bath, had been only around ten seconds or something, and it had him wonder just why they couldn’t do this drunk, he wanted this, wanted those lips against his, wanted to feel it, wanted to make all his unwanted dirty dreams come true, and just why was it only him who was turned down when all these women before had been clearly in a worse state than him, except apparently he had voiced the last concern out loud, if the words he heard next were anything to go by, “I can’t do this with someone I have feelings for. Not like this.”  
“What do you mean-” His suddenly flared anger disappeared as fast as it had come when he realized what he had just heard, freezing in his place as he could do little more than blink at the older before deciding to hide within the tub again, pressing his lips tightly together as he contemplated whether drowning in his tub would land him on the newspaper headlines next because it seemed to be way easier to handle than what he had just heard, or the way it made his heart beat, or the way he was muttering out loud, “‘s mutual.”  
Wait, what?  
Again, he sat up as if he had been electrocuted by an eel but this time, much to his own mishap, he was feeling dizzy from the fast action, clearly noticed by the other two for he could next feel a set of arms wrap around him and aid him out of the hot water, which he had only been sitting in because he had thought it was wise to run around in the rain outside, as he’d get to know days later, and despite hot water and alcohol being a bad option, it had been far better than getting into the shower together, according to Yanjun, that was, and then he felt as if he had been way too easily manhandled into walking to his room and getting dressed and slipping into the bed, except at the point he thought the other would just disappear to the other bedroom, he was instead greeted by arms wrapping around his waist from behind and a warm chest meeting his back, the low thump of one’s head meeting the space between his shoulder blades and it made him wonder whether his heartbeat was now audible.  
This was a weird situation, most definitely, Yanjun had confessed, he had confessed, he was feeling quite sober at the moment, or at least his thoughts were pretty clear and straight ahead, but he had no idea what to make of this decision now, he felt like he was about to receive whiplash just from thinking about what had happened within such short time and it would be way easier to handle if not… Silently he cursed as he got up carefully again, could only distantly hear the question of where he was going, which was easily answered because who had just made him drink half a liter of water on top of however many drinks?  
So, one visit to the bathroom and washing his hands later, he still felt weak on his feet and stumbled more than he walked, but he was still aware enough to notice the slight acceleration of his own heartbeat as he arrived in his bedroom door again, met with the sight of someone lurking under the blankets on his bed and knew exactly who it was, he wasn’t upset, not tonight, rather it made him feel flustered, faced with the realization of how this was something he could get used to or even look forward to, but then again, he would deny ever having had such thoughts the next morning, that he was certain of.  
Although, said next morning, he received a good morning kiss. Which he definitely didn’t reply to. Definitely not. Was the hangover speaking. And on Monday he’d find a new excuse. Definitely. Guaranteed with a hundred percent promise. There’d be a new reason as to why he wasn’t denying the sleepover or the good night or the good morning kiss or… anything. He’d find an excuse as to why he was going along with it, for sure. Defintiely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random note, the guy in the club was just someone Yanjun knew and he didn't want to be recognized so, right, we go for movie stereotypes! but that dude ain't relevant to the story and all  
> I also apologize for the ending? I guess? but my brain's too dead to think about a more proper one, halfway through it I realized I planned it differently - Gems is my witness - but then I thought, "Hey, it's not that bad!" and then, 20 seconds later, "Weeeeeell, I messed this up. big time" except it wouldn't be my writing if it went well, right? or if I actually bothered haha  
> Anyways, thanks to those who stuck around, waited for this finish, actually read it, gave me some comments (gimme comments and insert some villain talking here) and I'll try to be back for Valentine's!   
> also, get some not-updates on [twitter](https://twitter.com/zhengjunist) or pay me some critics on [c-cat](https://curiouscat.me/dadting)

**Author's Note:**

> Let's all wait for part 2 and meanwhile - follow my on [twitter](https://twitter.com/zhengjunist) or bother me on [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/dadting)


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